Ally Condie announced via her blog that she’s finished the draft of her first book post-Matched trilogy, tentatively titled Rio.

Here’s what she said about the writing process:

Right now we call it RIO but I’m quite sure that that title will change. This book has taken me a full year to draft, which is longer than it takes most people to draft a novel but right on target for me. I’m trying to apologize/angst less about this and just accept that this is how long a story seems to need to me to spend time in it, to get it down and get it right(isn)–there is so much editing and revision ahead, because I am also one of those writers who requires extensive revision.

Here’s the description of Rio from the original press release:

The first book, scheduled for publication in fall 2014, tells the story of Rio, who has waited her whole life for the opportunity to leave her safe, underwater city of Atlantia for life on the surface. But when her life takes an unexpected twist and Rio must remain below, she is left with increasingly dangerous questions about the complex political and religious system constructed to govern the fragile divide between land and sea.

Why you should read it: In this perfect world, the government dictates what you eat, how much you exercise, and matches you to the most compatible mate. But when Cassia is accidentally matched with two people, she falls in love with the unexpected choice and learns about the dirty secrets of her society.

Fun fact: Condie got the idea for Matched when her husband asked, “What if someone wrote the perfect algorithm for lining people up, and the government used it to decide who you married, when you married, etc.?”

Like this:

Ally Condie has made a major announcement on her personal website! As reported by the Children’s Book Council, Ally Condie is planning on taking us from a futuristic land to an imagined, complex underwater world! Ally informs fans on her blog post that she is staying with the same team that she worked with while writing and publishing Matched, Crossed and Reached.

So far, Ally has signed on for two books to be published. The first book does not have a working title yet, so Ally is referring to it as “The Rio Book.” Here’s an excerpt of Ally’s (spoiler-free) edited version of the official press release:

The first book, scheduled for publication in fall 2014, tells the story of Rio, who has waited her whole life for the opportunity to leave her safe, underwater city of Atlantia for life on the surface. But when her life takes an unexpected twist and Rio must remain below, she is left with increasingly dangerous questions about the complex political and religious system constructed to govern the fragile divide between land and sea.

It sounds like Ally Condie is really delving into the fantastical, which should be fun! We’ve got stories about werewolves, vampires, angels, demons, Gods… and now we will have one about an underwater world! It is not specified if this will be about “merpeople,” but I’m sure in due time we will find out. While Ally says she is excited to write about families and sister, she also reassured her fans that there will be more amazing romance stories in our future, saying, “Don’t worry, there is also romance!”

What do you think about the new announcement? Feeling skeptical about a story about an underwater world? Feeling excited to learn about that world’s “complex political and religious system”? Share in the comments!!!

I’ll keep this quite spoiler-free, but basically it’s a scene where a girl makes a bird out of some materials (one of those materials is mud, and one is glass). It’s a scene about creation and making something out of what you have.

I’m working on a new mud bird right now. Several of them, actually, and boy, are my hands dirty. And I am certainly getting lots of little cuts as I work with what I have and try to repurpose new things. I’m not just talking about writing projects (though I do have some of those!). Creation can be exhilarating. It can also be painful.

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